1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to well cement additives, and more particularly, to universal composite additives for improving the properties of well cement slurries.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hydraulic cement slurries used for cementing subterranean formations or zones in oil and gas wells must have particular properties. For example, the slurries must have properties such that they are capable of being mixed and pumped without prematurely gelling, have sufficiently long pumping times to be placed in subterranean formations or zones, have sufficiently high compressive strengths after setting, and have good fluid loss control.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) has set standards for different classes of oil well cements to insure that the cement slurries formed with them have required properties. The API cements are Portland cements and because of the strict requirements placed on them, they are more difficult to produce and more expensive than the many construction grade cements used for constructing bridges, roads, buildings and the like on the earth's surface.
Surface construction grade cements are commonly available from a variety of manufacturers throughout the world and are very inexpensive as compared to API Portland cements and other comparable cements used in cementing oil and gas wells. The construction grade cements typically contain high quantities of metal sulfates while the cements used in oil well cementing must have relatively low metal sulfate contents.
While cement slurries formed from inexpensive surface construction grade cements are suitable for a large number of surface applications, they do not have the properties required for subterranean oil and gas well cementing such as consistent viscosities, suitable thickening times, high compressive strengths after setting, good fluid loss control and the like. The chemical compositions, and particularly the metal sulfate concentrations, of surface construction grade cements vary from manufacturer to manufacturer making it impossible to predict the properties of cement slurries containing such cements. Thus, there is a need for a universal additive for improving the properties of inexpensive surface construction grade cement slurries whereby the slurries can be used in oil and gas well cementing applications.
A number of low quality oil and gas well cements which are available and used throughout the world also contain high metal sulfate concentrations and/or otherwise lack some of the properties required. For example, such low quality oil and gas well cements often have poor rheology, marginal strength development or poor response to conventional additives. Thus, there is also a need for a universal additive that can be utilized to improve the properties of presently used low quality oil and gas well cements.